Jobs May Have Pancreas Removed

Apple’s ailing CEO, who announced a 5-month leave of absence yesterday, may have his pancreas removed, doctors say. Steve Jobs had parts of it removed during surgery after a 2004 cancer diagnosis; now it may be necessary to remove the entire organ to avoid pancreatic leak, a potential side effect of the earlier procedure, Bloomberg reports. After the removal, Jobs would have to be on “signficant doses of insulin,” an expert says.

“You might have to take the rest of the pancreas out,” says the doctor, who’s not involved with Jobs’ treatment but has performed the procedure many times. “It’s not easy to manage. The person has the risk of severe diabetes.”
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